Always
by Vahkhiin
Summary: [Advent Children] After the defeat of Kadaj. There is one person Cloud needs forgiveness from and it isn't Aeris. She already forgave him. CloTif


**_I watched Advent children again..and I just couldn't not write another scenario of the aftermath..hehe..so anyway, heres my one shot. It's a Clotif fic so if ur not a fan of Clotif, I suggest you click back and find another story. But if you are a Clotif fan, then enjoy...I enjoyed writing it. _**

"Mistakes.." Cloud muttered under his voice.

He had just defeated Kadaj, who was combined with Sephiroth. That moment in the chapel he had seen Aeris and Zack, they had smiles on their faces. They were at peace, but one thing he will never forget, he was forgiven by the both of them.

The burden didn't really fall off after though. There was one more person he needed to be forgiven from. Forgiveness he never knew he needed from her.

"I'm glad that you're okay," was her quiet calm voice.

Cloud watched as she sat down beside him on the step of Seventh Heaven. He had been sitting outside some time now. He needed to escape the loud shrills of Barret as he continuously congratulated Cloud on defeating their enemy again. Cloud had come to finalize that Barret was actually quite drunk and smirked to the older man.

"I.." Cloud trailed off, "The weight isn't as heavy as it used to be."

Tifa smiled gently and took his hand in hers genuinely. He felt his hand resting on her lap and he found himself wondering what it would be like to confess everything to her. How much he had loved her and still did. Of all the times he watched her secretly when she slept. If only he could tell her, if only she would forgive him.

_These things, these questions, they are always there, but their never answered._ The familiar voice rang in his head.

'Aeris?' his conscience spoke.

_She needs you just as much as you need her. Tell her before its too late. _

'But I-'

_You what? _

"Cloud," Tifa said, shaking him out of his thoughts.

Her eyes were somewhat home to a sudden change of worry in them. "Are you okay?" she asked, searching his eyes.

He nodded, there was no emotion in his face, there never was. "Tifa," he said, "I'm sorry," he apologized, eyes avoiding hers and staring out at the pavement.

"Cloud-"

"I won't ever forgive myself," he said coldly.

"Cloud, keeping things like that inside isn't always going to make things right," she said with worry in her voice.

He kept quiet, fixing his eyes onto hers, "There is one person I need forgiveness from before I can forgive myself."

"Aeris? She's gone Cloud, she can't come back. You did everything you could to save her, what more do you want?"

"I already have her forgiveness," Cloud answered, now staring at their laced hands again.

"Then who-"

"You," Cloud finished, fixing his eyes on hers now.

"But I.." She mumbled. What forgiveness did he ever need from her? He had never done anything that needed forgiveness from her.

His life was never perfect; there were mistakes, big ones and small ones. But most importantly there were mistakes; doubts he had made in his life that he wished to be forgiven. By only one person. He let a girl die without doing anything. He promised a girl a promise he never kept. He lied to everyone, most importantly he lied to himself.

"There are mistakes and there are regrets. I regret leaving Nibelheim, I mistook the power of Sephiroth, I misled the Soldiers and I regret watching Zack die, but you," he said, "you're different."

"I.." she mumbled, "Cloud what do you mean by all of this?"

"I cannot forgive myself until you forgive me," he stated, giving her a small smile.

"What is there to forgive?" she asked after some moments of silence.

"Everything," he answered blankly.

"Everything? What do you-" she stopped when he pressed his finger against her lips.

"You're my best friend, the friend I've had since childhood. I broke our promise and I lied to you. I left you to fend for yourself, to upkeep Seventh Heaven as well as the kids. I ran away, just like you said," he said sadly.

"But you were on deliveries," Tifa said, trying to make matters a bit less dense.

"My phone, I hold on to it, but I never answer it."

"I th-"

"I don't know how to forgive myself from hurting something so valuable to me," Cloud confessed, releasing his hand from hers and standing up, punching the wall slightly.

"Who did you hurt?" Tifa asked, standing beside him.

He turned to her with sorrowful eyes. "She was always there, but I never made any attempt to talk to her like we used to in Nibelheim. We never were the same since I left the first time."

"Cloud we do talk," she assumed he was talking about her. "Don't we?"

"You cannot hide everything all the time Tifa; I read it in your eyes," Cloud said, bringing his head down so his forehead touched hers.

Her reaction was startled at first, but then settled after a few seconds; she enjoyed the touch of his forehead against hers. Maybe they were more than just friends.

His eyes never closed and neither did hers. They stared quietly into each others, neither saying a word.

"I forgive you," she whispered, her voice tickling his face.

He smiled warmly and nodded his head, closing his eyes he whispered back, "Thank you."

This was her chance to set things straight. Before she could think twice she leaned in and their lips touched for the first time.

After a deep meaningful kiss Cloud broke it and drew back, bringing his lips to her forehead to finish it off. "Of all people, I never thought I needed forgiveness from you. I guess, I should have seen things with my heart and not with my mind," he whispered, placing another kiss on her forehead.

"Mmm.." she enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her forehead, the way it rested against her skin like that.

"I once thought that love is for fools," he said, "And I guess, I'm a fool now."

She understood what he was saying, for once.

"You were a fool for even thinking that," she smiled.

He brought his hand up to touch her cheek, bringing his face down again to look into hers; he managed a smile for her, his blank face starting to lighten up a bit. It was the first time he really smiled since Aeris left.

Leaning in for another kiss; he closed his eyes when his lips touched her soft lips. It was short, and sharp. Breaking it off he took her in his arms, embracing her with a hug he had never had given anyone for a long time now. Burying his nose into her neck he closed his eyes, letting out a sigh.

He could feel her arms drawing behind his back and resting near his waist.

"Would I be a bigger fool if I was to say that I love you?" he heard her whisper.

"I would be the fool for saying yes," he said, "But all rounder, I am the fool who fell in love when he so blatantly stated love is nothing but a feeling that'll weigh us down."

"So you're saying-"

"I love you Tifa Lockheart," he mumbled from her neck.

"She's always loved you man, you just didn't know," they heard someone laughing.

Drawing back from each other they looked over at the source of the yell, spotting Barret standing there with a smug look on his face.

"Ah ya can all kill me later," Barret laughed and walked back into the bar.

Cloud shifted his eyes to Tifa, watching as she turned her head; her eyes meeting his.

"You always have?" Cloud asked, eyes narrowed.

She smiled but didn't nod.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Cloud asked.

"I-"

"No," Cloud stopped her, "None of that matters now. A memory is all we have of the past."

They kept silent for a while; it wasn't until Tifa spoke up when the silence was broken. "So are you going to continue the delivery service?"

"I have to make up for the mistakes I've made to someone, so I don't think there would be any time to do deliveries," Cloud said with a smile.

"Cloud," she gasped happily, bringing her hand to touch his cheek.

"I want to spend every day living up to that forgiveness, and making sure I never make the same mistake I made once. I don't belong out there, I belong here," he pointed to Seventh Heaven. "With you. I want to be there to protect the only family I have ever had."

She smiled warmly at his confession.

"How about you two come inside and have some drinks," Cid shouted in quite a drunken state. He had his head poked out the window, one hand holding a bottle and the other waving to them.

Tifa giggled and nodded. "We will," she shouted back.

Cid nodded and fell back inside; the sound of crashing chairs and the laughing of their friends, quietly reassuring the couple that everything was okay.

"How about we go inside," Cloud took her hand and led her inside.

Entering the house was easy, all eyes was fixed on the couple. Cloud never let go of Tifa's hand which made their friends focus more on the new couple.

"Hey!" Reno laughed, "Look who decided to join us," he winked at Tifa. "Hi Nice thing."

He sensed Tifa's uneasiness, and boldly made his move, swinging the girl to his side and meeting eyes with Reno. "Don't."

"Okay, someone's got something shoved up his ass," Reno laughed, turning around but finding no one else laughing.

"Stupid move, Reno," Rude said shaking his head. He appeared to be not drunk, you could tell by the glass of water he held in his hands.

"You make one move on the girl and spiko will hunt you down," Barret said seriously.

"And we're there to back his ass up," Cid smiled, lifting his glass.

"Geez, was just a joke," Reno shook his head.

Soon they were all laughing again. Cloud had sat himself down on the barstool, refusing to drink as he watched, slightly amused at his drunken friends.

Tifa had gone off somewhere for a while now. Standing up Cloud walked towards the steps, noticing that Reno, Barret and Cid were already snoring.

"Where's Yuffie?" Cloud asked Rude.

"Somewhere with Vincent," Rude said.

Cloud smirked. He knew Vincent and Yuffie had it long know. Their silent looks and whispers. It was a surprise to find a couple like them; one dark and mysterious and the other bouncy and ecstatic.

"I'll keep an eye on them, you go find your girl," Rude huffed, sitting back down on his chair.

Cloud nodded and walked up the steps. He neared the room which he knew was Tifa's and opened the door quietly. Standing at the door he saw Tifa sleeping soundly on the bed above the blankets.

Walking in he smiled warmly, sitting down on the edge and touching her hand. She stirred for a moment, then opened her eyes fully.

"Cloud!" she gasped, sitting up quickly, "I'm sorry, I just laid down for a moment and..I didn't mean to fall asleep, I-"

He touched his lips with his finger. "It's okay," he said. "Go back to sleep Tifa," he said, standing up.

"No, it's okay. Besides who's going to wash up and clean the place?" she asked, shifting to the edge of the bed beside him.

He stared at her for a moment; treasuring the moment that he could actually admire her beauty in front of her. It had always been behind walls or in the shadows when he used to admire Tifa. But now, things were going to be different.

She could only smile and let him stare. Eventually she broke the silence, "Are we..uh..going to sit here all night or should we go downstairs?" she asked.

Cloud shook his head and laid down on the bed, side facing her. "We can clean in the morning," he said.

"But.."

"Ok fine, you go and clean. I'm going to sleep," He said, closing his eyes.

He heard her soft giggle and couldn't help but smile too. Eventually he felt her moving on the bed, shifting and laying herself down beside him. Her arm snaked its way into his waist, and her nose just touching his.

"Goodnight," she whispered, leaning in for a kiss.

"Hmm..A good night it is," he murmured back.

Finding himself unable to sleep he listened to her breathing. Slowly it went from excited, to stable to sleep.

_/"So have you forgiven yourself?"/_

He smiled, he very well knew whose voice that was. 'Yes,' his conscience spoke, 'Yes I have.'

_/"It's about time, keep her happy Cloud. Make up for your mistakes and keep her smiling."/ _

'I never meant to hurt Tifa,' he glanced down to Tifa's peaceful face.

_/"You never meant to let me die."/_

'Aeris I-'

_/It's the past Cloud, there's nothing you can do. _Her voice paused for a moment."/

'Yes there is.'

_/"Really? What?"/ _

'Live this life with Tifa, Thank you Aeris. Thank you for everything.'

_/So from now on you won't bother me any more/_

He smirked. 'Oh, when I have arguments with Tifa I'll seek your help.'

He heard her soft laugh in his head. /"_Remember that day in the forest."/ _

"_You like her don't you?" Aeris asked tilting her head with a smirk. _

"_Who?" Cloud narrowed his eyes. _

"_Tifa," she smiled. "I can see that you like her." _

"_See?" Cloud asked as he continued gathering logs for their fire that was almost burning out. _

_It was night, and he had been sent to gather up wood. Or rather, he volunteered. _

"_Why don't you tell her?" Aeris smuggled a smile. _

"_I don't know," Cloud answered, slightly uneasy with this subject. "Let's just talk about something else." _

_Aeris nodded, and stepped aside as he cut some branches off the tree behind her. _

"_She loves you Cloud," Aeris confessed. _

_His movements stopped, coming to a pause he turned to her. "Tifa loves me?" you could see the slight happiness in his blank emotional state. _

"_More than you could ever imagine. Pushing her away is only going to make matters worse and when they are, you might be too late. She has always loved you Cloud. Any woman can tell when you look into Tifa's eyes." Aeris said and walked off. _

_He watched Aeris walk away and then slumped down on the nearest boulder. _

"I won't push her away anymore." Cloud said, staring down to the woman in his arms. "I'm here to stay, Always."


End file.
